Presently, telescoping stands and other items are used in certain applications to assemble and array precisely electro-mechanical hardware or equipment with a fixed relative spatial relationship to each other piece of equipment and to the base into which the stands are inserted. However, with one exception with respect to an essentially straight supporting stand which is discussed below, the present telescoping stands and other items (for example, joints above the level of the stand assembly which is inserted into a supporting base) do not have integrated electrical wiring internal to the stands or other items which support the devices. Thus, the present stands do not have mechanical memory with integrated internal electrical wiring for precisely replicating the location of the devices without having to re-establish the electrical connections between the devices and the base on which the supporting stands are located.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 ("Electronic Percussion Instrument"), issued on Sep. 8, 1987, with the same inventor as this application. U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 claimed and disclosed only a socket means for maintaining only a constant angle between one end of a stand and the socket in a base into which the stand is inserted and between the other end of the stand and the socket on the piece of equipment which the stand supports. However, the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 did not prevent angular rotation of the stand about the long axis of the stand and further did not prevent motion of the stand parallel to the long axis of the stand (that is, pulling the stand out of either the base or the equipment or both). Using the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 it would have been necessary to make appropriate markings (as for example with a pencil or pen) on the sides of the stand sections in order to be able to restore the precise relative spatial relationship of the supported devices once the stands and supported equipment were disassembled. U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 disclosed a means for having integrated internal electrical wiring only in a supporting stand used in conjunction with a base socket which controlled only one of the three possible degrees of motion and even this disclosure did not make possible mechanical memory after the stand was collapsed unless pencil markings were made on the stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 was directed to applications in the musical world.
By the very nature of the business, musical bands must move frequently from location to location. One of the most difficult types of instruments to transport are percussion instruments because the instruments are both fragile and bulky. Stands of various types and sizes must be provided for each of the percussion heads as well as a seat for the musician. This variety of equipment makes the transport of the instrument very difficult.
Not only is it difficult to transport the instruments, but the set-up is also a major task. Unlike all string and wind instruments, the percussion instruments, due to the many individual components or percussions heads, presently require that each percussion head be arranged for height and attitude each time the musician performs. Additionally, when electronics are employed (for example, electric drums rather than acoustic drums), as for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,032 ("Percussion Instrument"), issued on Apr. 25, 1972, with the same inventor as this application, an electrical connection must be made between each percussion head and an amplifier which feeds an amplified signal to sound speakers for radiating the percussion sound. Naturally, the external electrical connections must be disconnected and reconnected with each move.
Prior to the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611 ("Electronic Percussion Instrument"), the electrical connection from an electrical percussion head to an amplifier was made by means of a conductor external to the stand supporting the percussion head. This meant that there were, prior to the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,611, a plurality of electrical conductors extending from the percussion heads (of electric drums) to a control console, amplifier, or other electrical control devices.
In the example of percussion instruments, the supporting stands all must be grouped around the player's seat and must be positioned so as to tilt the percussion head at a precise angle so the player can strike each percussion head with ease. Percussion instruments are frequently played by merely striking a stick in an area known to be occupied by a percussion head without actually viewing the percussion head. For this reason, positioning and height are critical and must be replicated precisely with each set-up so that the playing of the instruments remains exactly the same.